EL Al Michalell Shabbos

DeiahVidibur: Despite repeated pledges not to desecrate Shabbos, El Al operated a flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok last Shabbos night, parshas Mishpotim. Following pressure by rabbonim and public figures, El Al advanced the flight from 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to prevent Shabbos desecration at Ben- Gurion Airport, but the majority of the flight and the landing took place on Shabbos Kodesh. The flight was originally scheduled to depart Thursday night at 11:30 p.m. but was delayed due to a technical problem in one of the engines, El Al reported. This was not the first time El Al has operated flights on Shabbos. In a previous incident of this kind, a flight departed from the Far East to Israel after El Al officials claimed that it was a case of pikuach nefesh since the plane was "extricating" Israeli passengers stranded due to floods who wanted to return to Israel as soon as possible rather than waiting in hotels. Following the flight, El Al CEO Chaim Romano promised not to operate flights on Shabbos in the future.